Ramen has its origins in China. Chinese long stretchy, chewy noodles were brought to Japan but were not an immediate success as the Japanese did not find pork based broth to their liking. After ramen was fitted to Japanese tastes it became an immediate hit. Ramen gained world wide popularity after the Japanese invention of instant ramen in the late 1950’s. This instant ramen is what most of us think of when we hear the words ramen soup. The two are light years apart. Real ramen permeates Japanese culture.

The Four Main Types Of Ramen - From The Huffington Post

Shio ramen is the subtlest form with a clear, light-bodied salty chicken broth. Sometimes fish or pork are included.Shoyu ramen is soy sauce flavored and made with a chicken and vegetable broth base. Sometimes fish or beef are included.Tonkotsu ramen is rich and pork based, almost milky white in color.Miso ramen is rich in flavor from miso paste -- it also comes in a spicy version that's topped with spicy bean paste. The broth can be a combination of chicken, fish and/or pork.

Ramen has 3 components. The broth, the noodles, and the toppings. Each is important. The broth and noodle recipes are carefully guarded secrets among the half million or so highly competitive Ramen restaurants found in Japan.

THE BROTH.Broths are typically pork or chicken based and may take days to produce. Tonkotsu ramen gets its whitish appearance from pork bones which are boiled for many hours until the collagen broken down and released. This collagen can bee seen in the broth but not felt on the tongue. Additional flavorings may be added to these broths while cooking, or just before presentation. Miso, soy sauce, and spicy bean paste is among these.

THE NOODLESThere are 2 basic types of noodles. Straight and crinkly. The type of type of noodle used is dependent upon the broth. Smooth noodles go down easier and are more likely to be found in lighter broths while crinkly noodles do a better job of hanging on to the rich broth in heavier bowls. Ramen chefs will almost invariably produce their own noodle on site. Mixing various flours together for their own spin.

THE TOPPINGSEverything and anything goes here but ramen chefs will take great pains to pair the correct toppings with the broth and noodle. Meats, eggs, vegetables, shoots, sprouts, spicy bean pastes are all potential candidates but almost certainly green onions. If eggs are used, they must be soft cooked, peeled, marinated overnight and sliced in half lengthwise. Meat is typically pork slices (char siu or chashu) but ground pork is also used as well as beef or chicken.

The toppings were sliced roasted Momofuku pork belly, pulled Momofuku pork butt, sliced fish cake, nori, sliced scallions, peas, corn, and scallops to offset the intensity of the pork. Oh, and a soft cooked egg and ramen noodles. Not the instant kind but noodles made with a potassium carbonate and sodium bi-carbonate solution that turns them yellow and adds chewiness.

I smoked the bacon, pork belly, and pork butt and also roasted the chicken, pork belly, and pork nrck bones. Hence the 2 days.

I made quite a bit of this broth which is now stored in my freezer along with roasted pork belly and pork butt for when I feel the need. The tare is also in my freezer but it doesn't freeze.

I apologize for not currently having the time to respond to this properly.

I will say this. You've got to understand ramen to understand why I would go through this much trouble to produce what looks like a bowl of soup. I assure you this is not the case. This is a feast in a bowl. A feast of flavors and textures. It's all about the complexity of the broth and the quality of the noodles. The rest is optional but you must choose wisely.

I am certainly no fan of the instant ramen crap, ate too much of it as a starving college student, but what you've posted above I would not hesitate to tear into with reckless abandon. 2 days is a long time to prep for a bowl of soup, but man I bet that was intensely flavorful. Lots of umami going in the broth. Thanks for posting both times!

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